What You Need to Know for Your DIY Painting Project

Blog Post

When it comes to your painting projects, even without help of an experienced painter in Canberra, you can achieve a professional looking finish. Interior painting is a cheap and easy way to freshen up your home and if you do it yourself you will be able to save a significant amount of money. Here are some tips that can improve your painting skills and also turn the whole task into a more enjoyable experience.

Before you start with painting, make sure that you remove all furniture from the room you are painting. Gather larger pieces in the centre of the room and cover them with clothes. If you are also painting the ceiling, remove or cover all chandeliers and protect the floor with plastic sheeting. Run the painter’s trim along wall and ceiling edges and around trim.

When painting oily or dirty walls, it is very likely that the paint will come off. This is why, before you start the task, you should clean stained areas with a de-glosser or pre-paint cleaner which will enable easier adhesion of the new paint. They are ideal solutions for bathrooms, kitchens and other areas prone to hand marks.
When painting an entire room, what every professional painter in Canberra will suggest you always paint the trim first and then the ceiling, and then, finally, the walls. 

Be aware that paint colour can be different from one can to another and this difference can show on the wall. To avoid this, calculate how much paint you will need for your project, open as many cans as required and mix them together in a big bucket. If you cannot calculate easily how much paint is sufficient, always add more than less. 

The most troubling issues, when you do painting yourself, are lap marks. They appear once you roll over paint that is already partially dry. Keeping a wet edge will help you avoid this problem, but you need to act fast. Each new roller stroke should go over the previous one before the paint starts to dry. Start near a corner, with an upstroke and then roll up and down the full height of the wall. Make sure that the roller is always at least half loaded, without getting dry.

Every experienced painter in Canberra knows that the painters tape shouldn’t be removed before paint is dry. So let the paint dry and pull the tape away quickly at a 45 degree angle, but be careful not to rip it. 

We hope these tips can help you save money and achieve the great results you are hoping for. However, bear in mind that painting is a time consuming project, so do not rush, take your time. If you don’t have it, then, better hire a professional painter in Canberra.